PPC for Today, SEO for Tomorrow Part II
 by Mattya56
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05-11-2007
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In PPC for Today, SEO for Tomorrow Part I, I mentioned how I came across a medium-sized business interested in possibly starting an SEM campaign. I discussed how running a PPC campaign and sending out web-based press releases is a good short-term solution to boosting traffic to your Web site. In Part II, I want to talk about long-term SEO and how it can be much more beneficial than PPC.
SEO for Tomorrow
PPC campaigns, press releases and other quick fixes can get you fast traffic. Unfortunately, they are only as good as the money you spend. Meaning the second your budget runs out on your PPC campaign, your ads are gone. Oh and that press release was good … while it lasted. Basically, the effects of these strategies are not long lasting. Sure you can keep spending on PPC and sending out press releases, but wouldn’t you rather just be at the top of the SERP? Uh … yeah! That’s where SEO comes in. Yes, there are costs up front. Yes, it can be very tricky. Yes, the Search Engines are that nit-picky. No, you won’t see the results right away. Whew, now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about the benefits, OK?
SEO is your way to plan for your future. Think of it as an IRA, a 401K or perhaps more like an 18-month CD. 18 months is a great number to shoot for. Why? Well, you can often expect to wait 18 months before you see the full benefits of your SEO strategies. Don’t freak out, often times you will see results much sooner. I like to pad the wait time as much as possible, since many people do have to wait 6-18 months to see results. Yes, sometimes you can see results faster, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it. But let’s get back to the IRA, 401K and CD analogy. The money you are investing into your SEO will pay off huge in the future. Remember how I talked about the up-front costs of SEO earlier? Yeah, we’re talking about ONE TIME fees here folks, with benefits that will last years. Oh starting to sound a little better now, huh? I knew you’d see things my way.
Architecture is Awesome, Content is King, Linking is … um … Lovely?
These are three of the most important facets for your onsite optimization. Your site needs a structure that is optimized for the Search Engines. I’ve recommended using Content Management Systems since there are many that have been constructed to fit the criteria of search perfectly. That way, once you add your links and content, your onsite optimization is done for you. Now add as much content as you can. Make sure it is original and adds value to your site. Try to write a new article every day if possible. Don’t worry too much about keyword density, just use it where appropriate (like the title, duh!). Now go get you some links. Do whatever you can to get links. Lie, cheat, steal, buy – do whatever it takes. Write a clause in your reseller agreement that states customers must link to your site. Contact people in your industry and let them know they may want to link to your educational articles, thereby adding value to their site without having to take the time to write. Be tricky!
Sure this is a top line view of what needs to get done, but I think it’s a helpful start to anyone knew to the industry. You’ll obviously want to drill down deeper into each of these strategies, but for now its important just to know how important they are.
